Jonno Ingerson, QV.co.nz research director, said the increase defied scepticism.

"As the year went on, there was more and more talk in the media about property values once again overheating and that the increases were another bubble," he said.

A comparison of value changes in the main centres showed how much the national annual increase of 10 per cent was pushed up by Auckland and Christchurch, he said.

"From the North Shore to Manukau values increased between 15 per cent and 18 per cent annually, and values in Christchurch went up 12.7 per cent. In contrast, the rest of the main centres increased between 2.5 per cent and 4 per cent apart from Hamilton which was slightly higher at 5.8 per cent," Ingerson said.